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Friday, August 31, 2012

It's hard to believe that it's the last day of August already. Summer has just flown by, and I was so busy, I still feel like there's so much I want to do in summer. Like go to the beach...we live 15 minutes from the beach yet I've only been there 2 times this summer. Fail! We've been super busy working around our house and we've been camping for a few weekends. This summer was fun, but went by way too quickly!

One positive about today being the last day of August is that it's reveal day for Foodie Pen Pal. This month, I was sent a fantastic box from Stephanie. She visited her local health food store to pick out some items for me and she did a great job!

These snacks were enjoyed at work! I had the licorice and I was super impressed with it--I read the ingredients list first and was a bit wary, but it was delicious! I haven't tried the truffles yet, but I really liked the Ginger Snap Almonds. They were a great mid-morning snack and I loved the ginger.

I'm really excited to try the Soba pasta. I've wanted to try it for a while now and now Stephanie's given me the opportunity. It is on the menu for next week!

Ah, the sun cups. Stephanie must know that I adore PB cups, so these were a great choice for me. I also liked the spearmint gum. I ate some during church last week and the flavor was perfect. Stephanie also included a handful of flavored honey candies. Mike and I both really liked them!

Thank you for a great box, Stephanie. I think you'll need to go back to the health food store :)

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Are you interested in participating in Foodie Pen Pals? Here's some important info for you!

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive
your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact
your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you
might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of
goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about
the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things,
local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The
box must also include something written. This can be anything from a
note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your
items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget
about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If
you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a
short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you
received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry
about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian residents. Please
note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve
determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to
send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice
versa.

If you’re iinterested in participating for September, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by September 4th as pairings will be emailed on September 5th!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

These are the rolls that I made to serve the Mango BBQ Pulled Pork on a couple weeks ago. These rolls were perfect for pulled pork because they are sturdy enough to hold up to the juices. They were simple to make and the cheddar in the rolls added a great flavor. The original recipe calls for jalapeno peppers to be added as well but since I didn't have any, I omitted those. I think they would be a great addition though. These Cheddar Rolls were perfect for cold sandwiches and I know they would make a great burger bun as well. I think these will be my go-to roll for pulled pork sandwiches!

Cheddar Rolls

Makes 8 rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup lukewarm water

2-1/4 teaspoons yeast

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons sugar

3-1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped (optional)

1. Pour warm water into the bowl of your stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, until frothy.

2. Add the olive oil, 1 egg, and sugar to the bowl and mix.

3. Add the flour, salt, and shredded cheddar cheese and mix on low speed with a dough hook until the dough holds together, about 2 minutes.

4. Increase the speed to medium and continue to knead the dough for 5 minutes.

5. Cover the dough and let it rise until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.

6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured workspace. Divide dough in half and then divide each half into 4 pieces.

7. Roll dough into rounds and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches between each roll.

9. Whisk the remaining egg with 1 Tablespoon of water. Brush over each roll.

10. Bake rolls at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Allow the rolls to cool at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving them.

These rolls freeze well. (I made mine a few days before our dinner and froze them until the day I needed them. I let them thaw on the counter and they tasted fresh.) Store any leftovers in an airtight container, or freeze.

Monday, August 27, 2012

A couple of weeks ago, Mike and
I had some very special guests over for dinner.Almost 2 years ago, my best friend married the love of her life, a man
she met in Romania.They met on a
mission trip nearly 10 years ago and dated long distance.Then, in 2009, he was granted a visa so he
could come here and they could get married.I’m ecstatic for my friend of course, but her husband moved a long way
from his family.After a lot of
planning, his parents and brother were able to come here for a 3 week
visit.I’ve spent time with this family
during my trips to Romania, so I was thrilled that they would be visiting our
home.I wanted to make a meal that we
would all enjoy, but it needed to be something that required a small amount of
work because I had to work the day they were coming over.

When cooking for a crowd, one
of the easiest recipes I can think of to serve is pulled pork. The hands-on
time is minimal and if you use your crock pot, the meat can cook while you’re
at work or preparing other aspects of the meal.Of course, the delicious aroma of the pork filling your kitchen is an
added bonus.

I love mangoes so when I saw
a recipe for mango BBQ sauce, I knew I had to try it.The mango flavor is subtle, but just
enough.I served the pulled pork on
homemade cheese buns (look for that recipe on Wednesday!)Everyone really enjoyed the meal.We had plenty of leftovers that Mike and I
have enjoyed for other meals.My friend
who watched Champ last weekend declared the pulled pork “awesome”—I’d have to
agree with her!

Friday, August 24, 2012

We're in the midst of peach season here and the local farmer's market is bursting with the scent of fresh peaches. I love to use fruit that is currently in season because it is much more flavorful.

We had some friends from Romania over for dinner last week. I made pulled pork sandwiches, which was fun because they hadn't had those before! I wanted to top off our dinner with a fresh dessert. The peaches were fresh and flavorful and I used the plump blueberries I had picked a couple weeks ago. I topped each piece of cobbler with a dollop of whipped cream and it was a perfect summer dessert!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

One of the best parts of a Hawaiian vacation is the views. Absolutely breathtaking!

Another perk is the delicious drinks. An ice-cold drink is a great refresher while you're soaking up the sun. Of course, you don't have to be in Hawaii to enjoy a tropical drink.

I created this drink as part of the DailyBuzz Food Tastemakers Program. I was contacted and asked to create a drink using Sweet'N Low. I searched some other blogs for inspiration, but struggled to find a drink that really looked good to me. I decided to combine various aspects of other drinks, combinations of my favorites, into a delicous tropical drink. I really liked using Sweet'N Low as a sugar substitute because it does not leave an aftertaste, and it doesn't add many calories to this drink. Mike and I both enjoyed this and I think you will too!﻿

Monday, August 20, 2012

Mike and I just spent the weekend up north at a lake cottage with some of our friends. We had a fabulous time enjoying a little bit of sun, pontoon rides, campfires, fun games, and delicious foods. According to Mike and the friends we were with this weekend, the perfect accompaniment to a brownie is a tall glass of cold milk. I'd have to disagree, but that's simply because I dislike milk. I think I probably have my usual glass of water with a brownie...boring, I know! What about you, what do you like to drink with your brownies?

When I received my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month, I spent a few hours reading through Gloria's blog, Canela Kitchen. It took quite a while to get through everything because she has been blogging since 2007. I made a long list of recipes that I wanted to make, most of them were blueberry recipes because earlier this month, I had an abundance of berries. Unfortunately, time got away from me and I forgot about the blueberries and those recipes. I realized late last week that I hadn't made my recipe yet and it was nearly time to post! I quickly went back through my list and came upon this recipe for Dulce de Leche brownies. I love brownies and I love Dulce de Leche, so I knew this was a perfect recipe. Plus, I wanted to make something to bring up north with us.

These brownies certainly did not disappoint. They were rich and gooey. I enjoyed the layer of Dulce de Leche in the brownie. We enjoyed eating these brownies with lunch this weekend. I'm glad I ended up making this recipe...thank you Gloria! I know I'll be visiting your blog often and I will be making some of your delicious blueberry recipes too.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Blueberry season came and went in the blink of an eye this year. The hot weather earlier this spring has done a number on a lot of the fruit crops here. Last year I picked blueberries at a local farm. I spent about an hour picking and picked nearly 15 pounds, most of which I froze and used for smoothies through-out this past year. A couple of weeks ago I went picking again. I was out for an hour when it began to rain. I picked a total of 4.8 pounds of blueberries, yes, way fewer than last summer! I ended up stopping by a farm market to pick up some more blueberries to make up for the lack of those that I picked.

I ate quite a few of the fresh blueberries that I picked, most of them on the way home from the farm. They were so delicious, I just couldn't stop eating them! I decided to use some of the blueberries to make a cake. This blueberry cinnamon roll cake was fantastic. It's basically a coffee cake, but it's amped up with a delicious swirl of blueberry sauce. I'm glad that I made this cake, and I'm sure I'll be making it again and again!

Blueberry Cinnamon Roll Cake

Makes 1 9x13" pan, about 16 servings

Blueberry Sauce

2 cups blueberries

1/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake:

3 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted

Topping:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons flour

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar

2-3 Tablespoons milk (more if needed)

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. To make the blueberry sauce, place blueberries, water, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan.

2. Cook over medium heat, mashing blueberries with a potato masher as you go.

3. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Set aside to cool while you make the cake.4. Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl.5. In a small bowl, combine the milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. 6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. 7. Pour half the cake batter into a greased 9x13" cake pan.8. Pour blueberry sauce evenly over the cake batter. Pour remaining cake batter over the blueberry sauce.9. In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon until it resembles wet sand. Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter.10. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.11. While the cake is cooling, whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla together to make a glaze. Add just enough milk to reach your desired consistency (mine was a little too thick!)12. Pour glaze over the cake. Allow the cake to cool for 1 hour before cutting into it. Adapted from: Eat Cake For Dinner

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Mike’s favorite food, hands down, is pizza. We typically plan to have pizza for supper at least one night per week, usually Fridays. Last week, I asked Mike what sounded good for supper. He replied, “pizza”. Of course, pizza always sounds good to him! Lucky for him, I had planned to have pizza for supper that night.

This pizza is based off of a pizza currently being made by a popular restaurant. The advertisements look so delicious that I knew I had to make it at home. These garlic bread pizzas are easy to make and taste fantastic.

If you don’t have the time or desire to make your own garlic bread, you certainly could use store-bought. I went ahead and used the entire loaf of bread so that we would have extras. These pizzas freeze great and Mike is thrilled to have the leftovers to take to work. Feel free to spice it up with extra pizza toppings—we’re pretty boring around here and we prefer just pepperoni!

Garlic Bread Pizzas

Serves 8

You will need:
16 slices of garlic bread (the amount made by one loaf of this recipe)
1 jar pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I used a pizza blend)
32 slices of pepperoni

1. Spread pizza sauce on one side of each piece of garlic bread.

2. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top of the pizza sauce.

3. Top with 2 pieces of pepperoni. You can also add any other pizza toppings you desire.

Monday, August 13, 2012

How was your weekend? Mine was super busy, but great! I started Saturday morning with a 8 mile run, which went great. When I got home, Mike was busy at work in our backyard. We had a random clothesline pole right in front of the stairs to our deck, and we decided it was time for that to go. He dug around it, hooked up a chain, attached it to our truck, and that sucker popped right out. Then we decided to tackle some over grown and ugly bushes in our front yard. We cut down 3 and pulled out 1 with the truck. He'll finish the rest this week, because we were exhausted!

To help us refuel, we needed carbs! Carb loaded foods make everything better, right? While not the healthiest food choice, this bread sure does taste good. It's quite easy to make, though the rise time does need to be taken into account. We enjoyed some of this bread as garlic bread, and then used the rest for another recipe I'll be sharing with you Wednesday. Be sure to come back then--you don't want to miss out!

I made this puppy chow when Mike and I went camping with his cousins a few weeks ago. A few other people had munchies out so I went to the trailer to grab ours. Mike asked why I was bringing out a snack so close (2 hours) to dinner time? I said I was hungry and others might want some too. I was right and I saw quite a few people munching on this s'mores puppy chow right up 'til dinner time. I also heard comments like, "this is so good!" and "what's in here?" and "what makes this so yummy?" My secret? It's made with love. Just kidding! (Kind of...)

I followed my basic recipe for puppy chow, but I added in broken pieces of graham crackers and mini marshmallows. This version was certainly a hit and Mike and I scraped the bottom of the bowl clean. The sugary pieces at the bottom are the best!

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Can you believe it's August already? I don't know where this summer has gone! We've had a great summer, I just wish it wasn't nearly over. Soon we'll be enjoying the crisper temperature of fall weather, along with delicious caramel apples--the inspiration for this cheesecake!

When Tina announced that this month's Crazy Cooking Challenge was Cheesecake, I was in luck. I knew exactly what recipe I was going to make--in fact, I had already made it!

I am typically in charge of making dessert for our Sunday dinners with my parents. The Sunday that I made this dessert, we had dinner with my parents and Mike's parents, so I chose to make a fancier dessert than I typically would.

Everyone really enjoyed this cheesecake. I loved the crunch of the apples on top, and the sweetness of the caramel topping. This is a recipe I'll definitely be making again!

Friday, August 03, 2012

I have a confession to make: I made this cake for Mike's birthday. No big deal? Well, his birthday is in November. That's right, I've been holding onto this recipe since then. Why? I thought that an ice-cream cake was much more appropriate to share during the hot month of August rather than the chilly month of November. This cake was too amazing not to share, so of course, I'm sharing it with you today.

This cake begins with a layer of Chocolate Chip Cookie "Cake". It's amazing just by itself, and it's what I made Mike for his birthday the first year we were married. If I have to keep improving upon his cakes, this year's going to be insane...I better start thinking of ideas. And what about 20 years from now, oh boy!

Anyway, the cookie cake is topped with Mike's favorite ice-cream--Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Then it is covered with a layer of chocolate ganache. And to top it off, I used my recipe for Ready to Eat Cookie Dough to make cookie dough truffles for the decoration. The result? This cake was out-of-this world delicious!

1. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave cream on medium high for 2 minutes.

2. Pour over chopped chocolate and stir until smooth.

To assemble cake:

1. Allow the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake to cool completely.

2. Let the ice-cream thaw at room temperature for about 10 minutes, until it is spreadable.

3. Spread the ice-cream in a thick layer over the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake.

4. Pour ganache over the ice-cream. It may harden quickly so work fast to spread it out.

5. Place the cookie dough truffles on top of the ganache.

Serve immediately or freeze until you're ready to serve. Let it thaw at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it. Freeze any leftovers in an air-tight container.

Note: If the Ready-to-Eat Cookie Dough is too sticky to roll into balls, add a small amount of flour or refrigerate it until it is easily handled.

***Edited to Add: I've heard from a lot of you that this cake has presented issues. Here are a couple suggestions I've come up with to help you:
-Instead of spreading the ice-cream over the cake as suggested in step 3, line a cake pan (the same size as the one you baked your cake in) with plastic wrap. Spread the ice-cream into the pan and allow it to freeze. Then flip the frozen ice-cream over the cake and remove the plastic wrap. This should make that step a lot easier!
-Per the suggestion left in the comments, make the entire cake in a 9x13" pan.

Wednesday, August 01, 2012

I started running about 20 months ago. I'd never been much of an athlete, but for some reason I thought I'd give running a try. Little did I know that I would end up loving it! Since then, I've competed in 6 5k races and I'm currently training for my first half marathon (13.1 miles) in September. I never thought I would be the person who runs 7+ miles at 7:00 on a Saturday morning for fun, but that was me last weekend!

One of the greatest things about running is the community. I have a few "gym friends" who offer training advice as we're on the treadmills, as well as a great group of friends from church who are runners. I've also discovered a fantastic group of running bloggers, I'm sure you've heard of a few of them! This group, the Red Faced Runners, has set out to encourage others to get active. On the weekend of September 8 & 9, the Red Faced Runners will be joining together to run various 5k’s all across the country. I've signed up to join in the fun and there's always room for more!

When I run, I get really hot and sweaty (TMI? sorry...), so I try to find ways to cool down quickly when I've completed a run. I drink a lot of cold water, but I've recently started making my own popsicles. These are 100% natural fruit popsicles and they definitely do the trick of helping me to cool down! They're healthy, simple to make, and they are a fantastic summer treat.